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PAC-12 Coaches and Storylines

wyomingBUFF

Well-Known Member
For how maligned the conference reputation and buzz may be at the moment, there is potential for things to break right this year and have PAC-12 in the national spotlight. I think we have the most interesting collection of coaches in the P5:

Chip Kelly/UCLA: NFL and Oregon background, exciting style of play in biggest media market. People nationally will be paying attention.

Kevin Sumlin/Khalil Tate: Big name coach and Heisman contender united at Arizona make for some interesting storylines.

Bryce Love/Stanford: can Stanford break through this year and does the Pac-12 get serious look at a Heisman? Does David Shaw get in the mix for an NFL job?

Chris Petersen/Washington: Best, least talked about coach out there. Can UW make a playoff run? A win against Auburn is big nationally.

USC: beat Texas and NOtre dame and make a run to be in spotlight as a blue blood?

Herm Edwards: interesting because, WTF?

Mike Leach/WSU: interesting because...Mike Leach

Buffs: return to prominence? MM Coach of year 2 years ago. Potential electric offense

Oregon: If they are improved, people will take note. Brand is still strong.

Utah: is this the year Whittingham gets poached?

Cal: 2nd year for Justin Wilcox

OSU: maybe not that interesting but you never know
 
I am really interested to see how Wilcox does in his second year. If they make a big jump to 8 or so wins he could be sitting on a gold mine.

Shaw has always been boring for me, I wish he would take more of a leadership role in terms of the media and the Pac-12 because his program is one of the only ones that can talk **** about almost any SEC team and it wouldn't matter.
 
wyomingBUFF said:
For how maligned the conference reputation and buzz may be at the moment, there is potential for things to break right this year and have PAC-12 in the national spotlight. I think we have the most interesting collection of coaches in the P5:

Chip Kelly/UCLA: NFL and Oregon background, exciting style of play in biggest media market. People nationally will be paying attention.

Kevin Sumlin/Khalil Tate: Big name coach and Heisman contender united at Arizona make for some interesting storylines.

Bryce Love/Stanford: can Stanford break through this year and does the Pac-12 get serious look at a Heisman? Does David Shaw get in the mix for an NFL job?

Chris Petersen/Washington: Best, least talked about coach out there. Can UW make a playoff run? A win against Auburn is big nationally.

USC: beat Texas and NOtre dame and make a run to be in spotlight as a blue blood?

Herm Edwards: interesting because, WTF?

Mike Leach/WSU: interesting because...Mike Leach

Buffs: return to prominence? MM Coach of year 2 years ago. Potential electric offense

Oregon: If they are improved, people will take note. Brand is still strong.

Utah: is this the year Whittingham gets poached?

Cal: 2nd year for Justin Wilcox

OSU: maybe not that interesting but you never know
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Aub game big for UDub and conference.
 
i'm not getting that excited by a bunch of guys who got fired from other jobs are now in the pac. chip, sumlin, etc.
i'd be more impressed if young turk hires were going on and the pac was seen as a vibrant league....with innovative offenses and superlative athleticism....

i think the pac was the right move for CU $$$ and to get away from Texas...... but i'm not too impressed with the league so far.
 
Innovative offense is not really what holds the Pac-12 back. Overall defensive coaching and athleticism is what is needed.
 
Duff Man said:
UCLA being in the spotlight will not be good for the conference.
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Because they’re not good at football?

For now, maybe. Chip is going to make a good story and that’s positive in getting the PAC-12 in the national discussion. This is positive for the brand of the conference.
 
wyomingBUFF said:
Because they’re not good at football?

For now, maybe. Chip is going to make a good story and that’s positive in getting the PAC-12 in the national discussion. This is positive for the brand of the conference.
Click to expand...

I am not convinced he is going to be that successful at UCLA. When he took over Oregon, the program was already pretty good while Washington was terrible, Stanford was still building, and the Pete Carroll era at USC was winding down.
 
Mick Ronson said:
i'm not getting that excited by a bunch of guys who got fired from other jobs are now in the pac. chip, sumlin, etc.
i'd be more impressed if young turk hires were going on and the pac was seen as a vibrant league....with innovative offenses and superlative athleticism....
Click to expand...

Chip Kelly tried his hand at the NFL, and it didn't work. There are lots of examples of guys who did way better in college than pro, or vice versa. Off the top of my head, Marv Levy is in the Pro Football HOF, and is also one of the worst, if not the worst, coach in Cal football history, posting an 8-29-3 record in Berkeley.

Kelly went 46-7 at Oregon, 33-3 in the Pac-12- and, by the way, he did that with an innovative offense and superlative athleticism (DeAnthony Thomas et al.). I think there is reason to be excited about having him in the Pac-12. I mean, the man only lost 3 conference games in 4 years.

Sumlin, on the other hand, was fired from a higher profile college job. UA is a step down. Perhaps it will work out for him, and I think Wildcat fans are hopeful, given his A&M success came with a dynamic QB and he apparently has one available on day one at Arizona.

I don't think it's fair to lump Sumlin (re-tread, recently fired college coach) in the same basket with Kelly (NFL flop but a Pac-10/12 coaching record with few equals).
 
I get what you guys are saying.

While I do think Chip gets it going at UCLA, my real point is in the storylines created and how they can elevate the discussion of the Pac12. There need to be compelling storylines for the conference to get back on a positive track, maintain relevance etc. UW is great but they are not a very exciting brand at the moment. Maybe a win against Auburn changes the perception.

Overall, I think we have interesting coaches in the PAC that warrant discussion. Not all necessarily due to expected success (Herm Edwards) but just due to intrigue.
 
HighlandsBuff said:
Chip Kelly tried his hand at the NFL, and it didn't work. There are lots of examples of guys who did way better in college than pro, or vice versa. Off the top of my head, Marv Levy is in the Pro Football HOF, and is also one of the worst, if not the worst, coach in Cal football history, posting an 8-29-3 record in Berkeley.

Kelly went 46-7 at Oregon, 33-3 in the Pac-12- and, by the way, he did that with an innovative offense and superlative athleticism (DeAnthony Thomas et al.). I think there is reason to be excited about having him in the Pac-12. I mean, the man only lost 3 conference games in 4 years.

Sumlin, on the other hand, was fired from a higher profile college job. UA is a step down. Perhaps it will work out for him, and I think Wildcat fans are hopeful, given his A&M success came with a dynamic QB and he apparently has one available on day one at Arizona.

I don't think it's fair to lump Sumlin (re-tread, recently fired college coach) in the same basket with Kelly (NFL flop but a Pac-10/12 coaching record with few equals).
Click to expand...

Chip's success and recruiting at UO is not in question.....but i don't think you can go home again. this is a league that gave rick neuheisel two HC jobs.

do you think Helton is the best USC can do?

the Pac is really weak right now. it's a fact.

i've always thought Sumlin was a clown. they always say "the OC at Oklahoma" but Kevin Wilson was calling the plays for those demarco murray Sam Bradford teams.
 
For the Pac to be elevated in a positive light, you need USC to be good. Washington is nice, but they aren't a national brand like USC, and no other team in the conference moves the needle.
 
TSchekler said:
For the Pac to be elevated in a positive light, you need USC to be good. Washington is nice, but they aren't a national brand like USC, and no other team in the conference moves the needle.
Click to expand...
Hard to argue with that. There are other interesting storylines though and I was hoping to build on those.

Looking at this optimistically as the conference has been down in reputation, coverage and performance. Performance is a big component of reputation and coverage but not the only one. Trying to look at our positives and how this season could break favorably for the PAC-12.

What is the PAC-12 best case scenario this year? (Other than CU winning it)
 
wyomingBUFF said:
Hard to argue with that. There are other interesting storylines though and I was hoping to build on those.

Looking at this optimistically as the conference has been down in reputation, coverage and performance. Performance is a big component of reputation and coverage but not the only one. Trying to look at our positives and how this season could break favorably for the PAC-12.

What is the PAC-12 best case scenario this year? (Other than CU winning it)
Click to expand...
Best case scenario for the conference would be for USC and UW to both go undefeated and play an amazing Pac 12 Championship game with USC winning and advancing to the CFP as the 1 or 2 seed and ultimately playing for the Natty. UW would then go to the Rose Bowl and beat Ohio State or Wisconsin. It's not really what I care to see, but that would be best case for the conference.
 
Duff Man said:
Innovative offense is not really what holds the Pac-12 back. Overall defensive coaching and athleticism is what is needed.
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Twenty one 4⭐️ players committed to league so far in 2019, 10 to Oregon. Substantially behind other leagues.
 
onealcd said:
I am really interested to see how Wilcox does in his second year. If they make a big jump to 8 or so wins he could be sitting on a gold mine.

Shaw has always been boring for me, I wish he would take more of a leadership role in terms of the media and the Pac-12 because his program is one of the only ones that can talk **** about almost any SEC team and it wouldn't matter.
Click to expand...
I think Wilcox will be a good head coach. However, Cal is in an absolute no win situation financially with their AD. It will be interesting to see how they navigate that in the next 10 years. Cal has always flirted with being really good (recruiting is fairly easy with their location), but just can't ever seem to take that big step.
 
TSchekler said:
For the Pac to be elevated in a positive light, you need USC to be good. Washington is nice, but they aren't a national brand like USC, and no other team in the conference moves the needle.
Click to expand...
USC IS good and Udub appears to be legit with solid Stanford behind them. To elevate the Pac, we need the other top program in the South to step up: Colorado.
 
patebuff said:
I think Wilcox will be a good head coach. However, Cal is in an absolute no win situation financially with their AD. It will be interesting to see how they navigate that in the next 10 years. Cal has always flirted with being really good (recruiting is fairly easy with their location), but just can't ever seem to take that big step.
Click to expand...
No doubt. A lot of the financial pressure is gone now since the school said they would cover some of the extreme construction costs the AD got absolutely screwed with but still a challenge. Luckily Cal has a ton of local talent, gets a ton of unofficial visits since Stanford is so close and Wilcox is a young personality that seems to do a great job connecting with the new generation. I was shocked they did as well as they did last year and if he can keep that going then look out.
 
onealcd said:
No doubt. A lot of the financial pressure is gone now since the school said they would cover some of the extreme construction costs the AD got absolutely screwed with but still a challenge. Luckily Cal has a ton of local talent, gets a ton of unofficial visits since Stanford is so close and Wilcox is a young personality that seems to do a great job connecting with the new generation. I was shocked they did as well as they did last year and if he can keep that going then look out.
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They're in one of the Big 3 talent states and have one of the Top 5 universities in the world. Of course Cal is a great job in any sport. But, like CU, it comes down to whether you're coaching there at a time when the administration is supportive to athletics. Sometimes Cal just can't get out of its own way.
 
Alright fair question-Why would KW leave Utah and where would he go? Dude practically runs the AD over there as it is, and he's got all kinds of security-he's been there 13 years now (fifth longest tenured coach in the sport-longest in our league by far).
 
ahoelsken said:
Alright fair question-Why would KW leave Utah and where would he go? Dude practically runs the AD over there as it is, and he's got all kinds of security-he's been there 13 years now (fifth longest tenured coach in the sport-longest in our league by far).
Click to expand...
Would he return to BYU to coach? Maybe.
 
ahoelsken said:
Alright fair question-Why would KW leave Utah and where would he go? Dude practically runs the AD over there as it is, and he's got all kinds of security-he's been there 13 years now (fifth longest tenured coach in the sport-longest in our league by far).
Click to expand...

Because Utah isn’t a top job.

If they have a good year he will be highly sought after.
 
ahoelsken said:
No. Utah is a better job than BYU right now. If BYU ever gets a P5 invite......that might change.
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It’s his alma mater, so I thought it might be an option if he had any allegiance to them. From a career standpoint it’s definitely a step back.
 
ahoelsken said:
Alright fair question-Why would KW leave Utah and where would he go? Dude practically runs the AD over there as it is, and he's got all kinds of security-he's been there 13 years now (fifth longest tenured coach in the sport-longest in our league by far).
Click to expand...

He would leave the same way most other coaches leave-they get a ridiculous offer which is impossible to turn down. This is where the cash flush leagues like the Big Ten could do damage.
 
A coach like KW would have the same control and authority at another program that he does at Utah, otherwise he’s probably not taking said job.
 
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